Olaf Breuning by Sarah Merten

Olaf Breuning by Sarah Merten

Olaf Breuning. Humans brings together works created since 2015 by the New York State-based Swiss artist. They revolve around universal themes and questions dealing with the relationship between humankind, nature, and technology. Reckless exploitation of resources and climate change play a major role in Breuning's recent work. He exposes the fractures and failures, naivety, and stupidity that characterise much human behaviour as relentlessly as he does the absurd and the amusing.

Around 60 recent drawings by Breuning constitute the book’s common thread across a range of thematic focal points. Photographs, video stills, views of installations, and past exhibitions complement these drawings to create an independent visual reading in several chapters. The bizarre meets a brightly coloured, attractive repertoire of images, creating an idiosyncratic cosmos that causes exhilaration as well as thoughtfulness.

Two scholarly essays introduce Olaf Breuning's multi-layered artistic practice, while two literary contributions offer a wider view of his visual world.

Text in English and German. 

Sarah Merten is an art historian and curator for contemporary art at Museum zu Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.